While unemployment continues to be a major issue around the nation, we're in relatively good shape here in New Jersey. The state's unemployment rate, as of the end of June, stands at 9.2 percent, just under the national average, although that's up from 8.8 percent in May. The national average, remember is 9.5 percent.
But just a year earlier, in June 2008, New Jersey's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. In twelve months' time, the state has lost 135,000 jobs. Those are some scary numbers.
What state has the worst jobless figures? Not surprisingly, it's Michigan, home of the nation's beleaguered automotive industry. Michigan has a 15.2 percent unemployment rate, and it's still getting worse; it was 14.1 percent in May. Michigan has lost 337,600 jobs in the past year.
At the other end of the scale: North Dakota, with a jobless rate of just 4.2 percent. North Dakota is the only state that has added jobs in the past year, although the total is a mere 6,000 jobs.
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